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A slacker (Segal) tries to find meaning in his life while his older brother (Helms) tracks down and confronts his cheating wife.

IS IT A GOOD MOVIE?

Jeff (Jason Segal) is 30. He smokes pot and gets meaning--too much meaning--from Signs. He also lives in his mother’s (Susan Sarandon) basement. Meanwhile, his brother Pat (Ed Helms) has a wife that doesn’t love him or the waffles he makes just for her. He’s also sick of cleaning up after Jeff and does his best to dodge him.

By chance or bad luck, the two find themselves lost and aimless together. We’re supposed to wish them the best, hope they find whatever it is they’re looking for. But writers/directors/brothers Jay and Mark Duplass (The Puffy Chair, Cyrus) don’t make that very easy.

Early on, Jeff answers a misdial from someone looking for “Kevin.” Then he sees a guy in a basketball jersey with that name on the back. Then a delivery truck bears the name “Kevin’s Kandy.” We dislike Jeff for being so driven about finding the meaning of this coincidence, which he claims are signs. We’re expected for it all to come together and make sense and it never does. Meanwhile, Pat is a self-centered jerk who spent his savings on a new Porsche and has done his best to earn an unfaithful wife.

It’s obvious the Duplass brothers need us to care for the characters. What’s less blatant but more frustrating is the tone. Is this a comedy? The poster says it is, there are a few sharp lines and it stars two comedic actors, but there’s nothing funny. Maybe Segal and Helms wanted to try their hand at dramatic acting--which maybe they shouldn’t. If so, they’re as much to blame as the script.

THE EXTRAS

UltraViolet

FINAL DIAGNOSIS

Jay and Mark Duplass' Jeff, Who Lives at Home never finds a proper tone and doesn't know whether it's a comedy or a drama, leaving the audience distanced from the story and characters. Fans will be greatly disappointed in this Blu-ray, which has no special features (unless you count UltraViolet) on the disc.